Bill Young (comedian)

William C. "Bill" Young (died December 12, 2014) was an American stand-up comedian from Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1] Young appeared on three comedy albums released by Stand Up! Records, including the posthumous career retrospective Eat the Cake!, released in 2023.

For other people named Bill Young, see William Young (disambiguation).
Bill Young
DiedDecember 12, 2014 (age 32)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
OccupationStand-up comic
Years active2000-2014

Career

Young began performing comedy in 2000.[2] He considered himself a story-oriented comedian, as opposed to one-liners. Andrew Cahak, host of the podcast Dogbrain, called him "a strict adherent to silliness in all its forms."[3] Patrick Strait of City Pages called him "one of the most consistently funny and compassionate members of the (Twin Cities) standup scene."[4] Writing for Laughspin, Mike Brody said that Young's "ability to make a spine-tinglingly funny comment at any moment defined him."[5]

He was a regular headliner at the weekly Monday Night Comedy Show at Spring Street Tavern.[6] Young also performed at the Akumal Comedy Festival, CONvergence convention, as part of the duo Denson & Young, and at Stand Up! Records-affiliated shows such as Drinking With Ian and The $4.99 Show. He opened for Paul F. Tompkins.[5][7][8] He performed frequently at the annual 10,000 Laughs Comedy Festival.[2][9]

Young was also involved in live theater and film. He co-wrote, co-directed and starred in the play Hermann the German: The Scandal that Rocked New Ulm!, a comedy based on the real-life attempt by the city of New Ulm, Minnesota to boost tourism by creating a fictitious legend about a giant cement footprint supposedly made by the legendary figure Hermann the German. The play was first staged as part of the 2014 Minnesota Fringe Festival, then ran at the New Ulm Actors Community Theatre later that year.[10][11][12][13] Young also acted in the short film Birthmarked For Death, which won five awards including Best Film at the Minneapolis 48-Hour Film Festival and screened later at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in France.[14][15][16] He performed in Actors Theater's Comedy Roast of Mr. Scrooge in 2012.[17]

In 2010, Minneapolis rock band Paste? paid tribute to him with his own theme song, "Local Comedian Bill Young".[18]

Recordings

Young appeared on three comedy albums released by Stand Up! Records. Two were compilations. 2011's Nerd Alert! chronicled two evenings at the stand-up series Monday Night Comedy Show in Minneapolis.[19] 2013's The $4.99 Show (The $9.99 Recording) documented a series of shows at the Triple Rock Social Club, featuring Young as headliner and other Twin Cities comics including Gus Lynch and Chris Maddock.[20]

Young had been planning to record a full-length album with Stand Up! Records producer Dan Schlissel before his unexpected death. In 2023, Schlissel released a posthumous collection of Young's recorded work, Eat the Cake! It was compiled from Young's appearances on the $4.99 Show and Nerd Alert discs, as well as material recorded at Akumal, Grumpy's Death Comedy Jam, and Club Underground's Best Comedy Show Ever.[7] The album reached No. 2 on the iTunes and Amazon comedy charts the week it debuted.[21] Richard Lanoie of the Serious Comedy Site called the album "excellent and slightly dark ... If you are going to leave something behind, this album is a big something."[22] Writing for the website MN Comedy, Patrick Strait called the album "as funny and dark and bonkers as Young was."[8]

Personal life

Young attended Tartan Senior High School in Oakdale, Minnesota.[23] He had a brother and sister.[1] He was married to Jena Young, another Minneapolis comic; they later divorced.[8][7][3]

Death

Young died in his sleep on December 12, 2014, at his home in Minneapolis. He was 32.[1][2] At his funeral, he was given a 21-Nerf gun salute.[24]

Young's death occurred only two weeks after that of Gus Lynch, another important figure in the Minneapolis comedy scene, and both received widespread accolades from local comics after their passing.[5][25][24] Twin Cities comic Tim Harmston eulogized Young as an "amazingly creative, gifted, funny person."[26] Talking about the two comics on the podcast Hard Day Diaries, Schlissel said that Young "was super funny and the kindest human being you'd meet. ... Both of these guys deserved so much more than what life really gave them. I wish I could change even a moment of it."[27]

Discography

Selected podcast appearances
  • Dogbrain with Andrew Cahak, Episode 16 (March 30, 2014)[3]
  • Apropos of Nothing, multiple episodes[28][21]
  • Waiting For the Pizza, multiple episodes[29]
  • How Bad Cast, April 21, 2013[23]

References
  1. "William C. 'Bill' Young". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. December 16, 2014. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. Strait, Patrick (December 18, 2014). "Bill Young Memorial Show This Monday at Club Underground". City Pages. Minneapolis.
  3. Andrew Cahak (2014-03-30). "016 - Bill Young". Dogbrain with Andrew Cahak (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  4. Strait, Patrick (December 17, 2014). "Bill Young Memorial". City Pages. Minneapolis.
  5. Brody, Mike (2014-12-16). "Minneapolis comedian Bill Young dies but won't be forgotten by supportive Twin Cities comedy community". Laughspin. Archived from the original on 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  6. "Curiocity: Q&A With "Monday Night Comedy Show" Creator Andrew Brynildson". CBS News Minnesota. 2014-10-30. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  7. Micah Walsh (2023-01-15). "Episode 14 (with Dan Schlissel)". I'll Grieve You With This (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  8. Strait, Patrick (March 10, 2023). "Bill Young lives on through new posthumous/debut album". MN Comedy. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  9. Strait, Patrick (2014-10-15). "10,000 Laughs: Six days of punchlines, booze, and herding cats". City Pages. Minneapolis. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  10. "A guide to all things Fringe". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 2014-08-01. p. E8. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  11. "2014-2015 Season". New Ulm Actors Community Theatre. Archived from the original on 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  12. "Hermann the German making an appearance in New Ulm". Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch. Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. October 9, 2014. p. 3.
  13. "The New Ulm Actors Community Theatre presents Hermann the German". Southern Minn Scene. Faribault, Minnesota. September 23, 2014.
  14. "The Judges Have Spoken!". The Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Project. Archived from the original on 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  15. "Bill's Short Films". Young Notions. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  16. Sandford, Maggie (May 27, 2009). "MNArtists.org: MN filmmakers invaded Cannes, now working on 'Nation Undead'". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  17. "Actors Theater of Minnesota presents a Comedy Roast of Mr. Scrooge". Theatre News Wire. 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  18. "Local Comedian Bill Young". Paste? Bandcamp website. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  19. "Various – Nerd Alert!". Discogs. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  20. Austen, Jake (August 2013). "The Stand Up! Records Listener's Guide". Roctober. Chicago. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  21. "Episode 621!". Apropos of Nothing Podcast (Podcast). March 15, 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  22. Richard Lanoie (2023-03-10). "Bill Young – Eat the Cake!". The Serious Comedy Site. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  23. Mike Linden (April 21, 2013). "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls w/ Bill Young". How Bad Cast (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  24. Micah Walsh (2022-04-24). "Episode 5: Dead Parents Society (with Patrick Ryan Bauer)". I'll Grieve You With This (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  25. Carlson Gustafson, Amy (December 26, 2014). "Comedians tell us: What auld things should be forgot? And what was memorable?". Pioneer Press. Saint Paul, Minnesota. p. C1.
  26. Justin Severson (December 31, 2014). "EP130 Tim Harmston - Acme Comedy Company - 2014". No Laugh Track (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  27. Andy Mattfield (2019-03-11). "In Memoriam with Dan Schlissel". Hard Day Diaries (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  28. "Apropos of Nothing: Bill Young". Apropos of Nothing Podcast (Podcast). Archived from the original on 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  29. Kate Urquhart. "Waiting For the Pizza: Bill Young". Waiting For the Pizza Podcast (Podcast). Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
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